1D and 2D Modeling in Studying Petroleum Potential of the South Kara Basin

Abstract

Abstract Over the last years major petroleum fields in different regions of the world have been rapidly running out of their resources due to intensive production. Therefore, it is now essential to explore new territories and aquatories where large oil and gas accumulations could be revealed. One of the most effective methods of analyzing petroleum potential of prospective regions is basin modeling which consists in reconstruction of sediment deposition and formation of oil and gas accumulations by using special computer software. The objective of this research was studying petroleum potential of the South Kara Basin of the Russian Arctic Shelf. The study included 1D modeling for the wells of the Leningrad Petroleum Field in the Kara Sea, the Bovanenkovo Field on the Yamal Peninsula and 2D modeling for the seismic lines crossing the region in different directions. The 1D models were calibrated with the present day parameters of vitrinite reflectance measured in the studied wells. Thus, appropriate heat flow values for the region were obtained and used for further 2D modeling. As a result of 2D modeling, hydrocarbon accumulations were obtained for several known structures of the region, including the discovered petroleum fields of the Kara Sea and the Yamal Peninsula. This fact could approve the validity of the created models. Therefore, the results of conducted modeling could be used for the forecast of petroleum potential of the region. As a consequence, presence of petroleum accumulations was confirmed for some local structures that had been revealed earlier by seismics. Moreover, the zones of distribution of accumulations with different phase composition were determined within the South Kara Basin. Local structures defined by the modeling were considered to be the most prospective objects for further petroleum exploration in the region.